JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. – A man and his girlfriend, who were caretakers of his mother, pleaded guilty to negligent death of an at-risk person and was sentenced on Monday to 10 years in Colorado prison.
Brian Lee Seitz and Laura Pratts both pleaded guilty in the death of Brian’s mother, 59-year-old Sheryl Seitz.
In April 2024, the Arvada Fire Department discovered a nonverbal Seitz “lying on an air mattress in the garage” of a rental property, according to the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
The paramedics found Seitz “covered in filth and maggots,” Denver7 previously reported.
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Man, girlfriend charged with crimes against his at-risk mother in Jeffco
The DA’s office in a news release added that Seitz’s cause of death was ruled a homicide and that she died from “complications of neglect that stemmed from prolonged immobility caused by rheumatoid arthritis and bilateral femoral neck fractures, along with additional complications including decubitus ulcers, maggot infestation and burrowing, cellulitis, and sepsis.”
Seitz’s son, Brian, worked through a home health care company and had been paid to give care for his mother since November 2019.
He pleaded guilty to negligent death of an at-risk person in September 2025 and Laura Pratts pleaded guilty to the same charge in November.
Other charges, including crime of violence and negligent serious bodily injury to an at-risk person were dropped.
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